49ers Sign Glenn Dorsey To Two-Year Extension

WEDNESDAY, 8:12am: A source tells Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that Dorsey’s extension features $6.075MM in new money, with $2.575MM in guarantees and $1.75MM in incentives. In total, the lineman can earn up to $10.957MM through 2016 if he maxes out the deal.

TUESDAY, 6:04pm: The 49ers have signed defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey to a two-year extension through 2016, the team announced in a press release. The 29-year-old Dorsey tore his right bicep earlier this month, and could potentially miss the entire season, so it’s curious that the team would choose to lock him up now.Glenn Dorsey

“Glenn is a true pro who has quickly become a valued contributor to our organization both on and off the field,” said San Francisco general manager Trent Baalke. “He is a quick study and a very good football player that has earned this extension, and we look forward to his future contributions.”

Dorsey was set to enter the second year of a two-year, $6MM deal — $2.3MM of which he is to earn this season in base salary. Terms of his new deal aren’t yet known, but it will be interesting to see if the Niners were able to take advantage of the fact that Dorsey is probably going be injured for the duration of his contact year. As Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports 1 notes (via Twitter), this could be something of a buy-low opportunity for San Francisco — Dorsey was probably amendable to receiving any sort of guaranteed money while rehabbing from his injury, even if it was for pennies on the dollar.

Prior to joining the Niners, Dorsey spent five seasons with the Chiefs after being selected fifth overall in the 2008 draft. After playing mostly defensive end in Kansas City’s 3-4 scheme, he was expected to do the same in San Francisco, albeit in a reserve role. However, after starting nose tackle Ian Williams went down with an injury, Dorsey became the starter on the interior. He’s not an ideal fit for NT at 6’1″, 297 pounds, but he was competent in the role — Pro Football Focus (subscription required) assigned him a +4.5 grade for 2013, noting that he especially excelled against the run. In his career, the former LSU Tiger has started 78 games, accruing 189 tackles and six sacks.

Dorsey probably shouldn’t be counted on for much production in 2013. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that Dorsey will require one more MRI on his healing bicep before the 49ers make a decision on his roster status. In that vein, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee adds (on Twitter) that Dorsey is a strong candidate to be labeled San Francisco’s injured reserve/designated to return player.

This 49ers, however, agreed to this new pact with the long-term future of their defensive line in mind. Ends Justin Smith and Ray McDonald are signed through 2015 and 2016, respectively, but both could become cap casualties during next offseason. Williams is once again injured, and the rest of the position group includes youtful players like Tank Carradine, Quinton Dial, and Demarcus Dobbs. In extending Dorsey, San Francisco has added some stability to a defensive line that could see quite a bit of turnover during the next 12 months.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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